An award-winning Toronto based interior designer, Judith Taylor, provides invaluable information to help you ensure you get the best results from meeting with a designer.
Here are some great ways to prepare for the meeting. These will help to add value to your design session.
Be honest about your budget and come to the consultation with a number in mind. This will help to set some realistic expectations around what you can achieve with it. Establishing a starting point gives the designer a proper direction for quality, sourcing, and scope.
If you have children, pets, etc. please find the best way to occupy them during this time. This will allow you to make the most of our time. If you have cell phones (I know you do…), please put them on silent.
Before your meeting, put some thought into how you currently use your space, how you want to use it, how you want it to look, and what your goals are. Whether you want a magazine spread worthy living room or just a cozy place to curl up with a book, the designer needs to know your goals.
Maybe you don’t want to share that you pick up toys 8x per day… but there’s no judgment here. Part of designing a home that you find beautiful and supports your lifestyle comes from knowing what that lifestyle is… exactly as you all are. What we mean here is don’t keep secrets. Don’t clean up before the meeting. The designer needs to know the truth in order to know how to address the problems!
Straightforward enough! Share your goals. The more prepared you are with a complete list of questions, the more helpful the session will be.
The more you can inform the designer of what the dream looks like, the better he can help you achieve it.
Collecting images of spaces that you (and your partner) love will help to get a feel for your style. Even if you think a particular look will never happen for you, or if you are drawn to more than one style, include them. Designers learn a lot from these photos and can identify common design threads between them.
Where do you love to shop? These clues help to give a better sense of your style, and budget. P.S., where you shop for fashion, helps understand your style too.
…if you have them.
Studios like Judith Taylor Designs have a handy guide to photographing your space that will really help to get exactly the information the designer needs. Just ask.
Being receptive to new ideas can be the secret ingredient to an amazing final design. That’s why you reached out to a designer after all. You will get the most out of our time if you are open and ready to consider ideas or compromises that you may not have considered. A designer’s point of view can create a dynamic and unique space, but only if you let him…
And we hope you will!
Content generously provided by Judith Taylor Designs.